With the conference tournaments knocking on the door, Big Ten hoops turned out more chaos this week. On the men’s side, Donovan Dent’s 15-assist and game-winner delivered a shocker over No. 10 Illinois while Northwestern might be getting some life late in the season. For the women, Kiyomi McMiller detonates for 40 and get’s her 1000th point of her career while Michigan and Ohio State delivered an overtime thriller.
Men’s basketball
Game of the week: No. 1 Duke beats No. 3 Michigan, 68-63
Despite not technically being a Big Ten game, I’d be remiss not to include this one. This past Saturday, the Wolverines of the Big Ten and the Blue Devils captured the nation’s attention in the nation’s capital for a battle of defensive prowess. Both teams struggled to score in this one, but it was Duke that had the edge in the final moments. Cameron Boozer was quiet in this one up until the final moments due to foul trouble, but showed up when it mattered most, scoring seven of Duke’s final nine in a near triple-double effort. Duke also dominated defensively, holding Michigan to their lowest scoring total of the season and only allowing eight field goals in the final 20 minutes.
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Player of the week: Donovan Dent (UCLA)
The transfer guard put together a masterful display en route to the Bruins 2-0 week. On Saturday, Dent orchestrated UCLA’s win behind his 14-points and career-high 15 assists with no turnovers. Three days later, he followed it up with a season-high 30-point masterpiece on 10-for-16 shooting in a 20-point win over rival USC.
Team of the week: Northwestern Wildcats
Call me a homer, but it was a good week for Northwestern basketball. The Wildcats went 2-0 this week thanks to a home win over Maryland and a statement with Indiana. Nick Martinelli continues to look like an All-Big Ten player this week, putting up 29 against the Terps and adding another 28 in Bloomington as Northwestern erased a nine-point deficit in the second-half. Alongside him, Jordan Clayton put up a career-high 20 points with six threes off the bench against Maryland while Jake West had 16-points and four clutch free throws to seal the win in Indiana.
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Freshman of the week: Hannes Steinbach (Washington)
Steinbach keeps putting up grown-man numbers for Washington, and this week’s set of games was no different for the German. The forward opened the Huskies’ East Coast trip by going a near-perfect 7-for-8 from the floor for 14-points at Maryland and followed it up with a monster 24-point and 16-point rebound game in the road win at Rutgers. That performance was his 17th double-double of the year, putting him one shy of the record for the most double-doubles for a freshman since Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger had 18 in 2010-11.
Clutch performance of the week: Donovan Dent (UCLA) vs. No. 10 Illinois
I’m going back to Dent for this one, who had a wild performance against No. 10 Illinois. In addition to his 14 points and 15 assists which put the Bruins to complete the 23-point comeback, the largest in program history, he also had the game-winner to top it off. Taking the in-bounds pass, Dent went coast-to-coast for the game winning layup as the buzzer sounded.
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Women’s basketball
Game of the week: No. 8 Michigan beats No. 13 Ohio State, 88-86 (OT)
In a huge game with the regular season coming to a close, fans were treated to an absolute masterclass in this rivalry showdown in Columbus. After erasing a 14-point first quarter deficit, Michigan traded blows with Ohio State the rest of the way, with the game never getting too far out of hand. Up three in the final minute, the Buckeyes’ Jaloni Cambridge drew a foul on a late three to push it to overtime, but the Wolverines didn’t blink, with Olivia Olson winning it in the final seconds on an off-the-glass layup.
Player of the week: Kiyomi McMiller (Penn State)
In a season that’s been anything but exciting, McMiller has been putting up some mind boggling numbers. After matching her career-high of 37 at Rutgers, the sophomore went home and topped it by surpassing that with her first 40-bomb of her career and crossed the 1000 career point mark.
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Team of the week: Iowa Hawkeyes
If there was ever any doubt, this week had to have certified Iowa as a contender in March. Even while using the youngest starting lineup in the Jan Jensen era, the Hawkeyes still dominated against Purdue putting up 51 in the first half as they cruised to the win. The true headliner for Iowa was their domination of No. 8 Michigan. The Hawkeyes didn’t allow the Wolverines to get anything going offensively, holding them to a season-low 44 points and forcing 24 turnovers.
Freshman of the week: Destiny Jackson (Illinois)
Illinois might have already found their point guard of the future, and she’s only needed this season to find her footing. In the Illini’s 2-0 week, Jackson averaged 11.5 points while shooting an efficient 50% from the floor but really made her mark facilitating, dishing out 7.5 assists a game with just one in 66 minutes. Against Northwestern, she also broke Illinois’ freshman record for most assists in a season with a total of 140.
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Clutch performance of the week: Olivia Olson (Michigan) vs. Ohio State
Heading back to Columbus, I have to point out the excellent game that Olson put together. After falling behind by as much as 14 in the first quarter, Olson powered Michigan back in the game scoring 31-points and grabbing nine boards. Coming off of the blowout loss to Iowa, this was exactly the performance the Wolverines needed to get back on track for tournament time in Indy.
